Blue Jay
by Zaraizabell
Summary: Zara is just a seven year old trying to stay safe. Will she succeed in her goal, or will things just keep getting worse? OC AU
1. Promise

I heard the door open, so I forced myself to slide out of bed. I heard _her_ stumble in, swaying back and forth, definitely drunk. I swiftly made the bed, smoothing the wrinkles, and flipping over the pillow I had been asleep on moments before.

I slid fluidly into the shadows, and they welcomed me like an old friend, hiding me. She would unleash her rage on me at the slightest provocation. I curled up in the widow seat in front of our only window, turning so the rising so would act as an alarm clock.

I woke up at dawn and forced my self to get up. I slipped into our kitchen to make breakfast. I started the coffee maker and put a couple pieces of bread in the toaster, though I knew I wouldn't get either of them.

The smell of coffee woke _her_ up. _She_ walked into the kitchen area, and I tried to stay as small and unnoticeable as possible, trying to let the comforting shadows that protected me at night hide me during the day as well. I knew it wasn't working. There weren't enough shadows here to protect me.

She poured herself some coffee. She let out a string of curses when she spilled a bit on her hand. I slid further into what little shadows there were. They weren't hiding me though. She stalked over, and I tried to ignore the pain that came. Crying only made her angrier. Finally, rage spent, she went back to her food.

I slid out of the kitchen and examined the damage. There was a fist shaped bruise on my leg that would be impossible to hide in my leotard. I hated lying to Ms. Christy, but I couldn't tell her _she_ was abusing me. She would assume I was lying, and think I lied all the time. It always ended up being my word against _hers_ and adults believed other adults over kids.

I grabbed my gymnastics bag and ran out the front door, heading straight for the gym. Several of the shop keepers and cafe owners that opened early greeted me. I lived in one of the slightly better parts of the Haven, though that may change soon with how much _she_ was spending on her nightly outings.

I got to the gym just as Ms. Christy unlocked the door. There was about two hours in the morning where she would teach me privately. She said that the only price I had to pay was thanking her when I made it to the Olympics. We walked in and I ran to the locker room to change.

I got the heavy theater makeup I had gotten from the store's free sample section only a few weeks before I applied it to the bruise already showing on my leg after getting into my blue leotard. I turned my leg in the light, making sure that while the makeup concealed the bruise, it didn't show up.

It was several hours after Ms. Christy had opened the gym doors. She had been working with me on a new floor routine, and then a new balance beam routine. I had hopes of winning the sectionals, though I knew I would never be able to get the money to go to state. That competition was all the way in Metropolis, and you had to pay for your own food and the bus ride over.

"We have a guest teacher here today," she said, "this is Richard Grayson. He's one of the few people in the world that can perform a quad." We all gasped at that. I was slightly less shocked than the other girls, since I was getting closer every day to being able to go the move myself, but I was still amazed that someone so good at gymnastics would bother to come to a tiny gym in Blüdhaven.

Richard Grayson was a little under average height with a slight build, which was perfectly good for gymnastics, with black hair, and bright blue eyes. He was smiling brightly at us.

Ms. Christy said, "He agreed to assist each and every one of you with your uneven bars routine. You can work where ever you want until it's your turn. Katelyn and Hanna, I'll help you two with your floor routine in a minute or two."

I headed towards the beam, hoping to iron out my new routine, but Ms. Christy came over to me and said, "Zara, I want you to work with Richard first."

I nodded. I headed towards the uneven bars, hoping that no one would notice the slight limp.

I put on the grips started chalking my hands in the bowl. Richard asked, "What's your name?"

I replied, "Zara."

He said, "It's nice to meet you. So, how long have you been doing gymnastics?"

I replied, "Since I was three." The truth was I had hid in the gym after the first time. Ms. Christy had found me and taught me some gymnastics moves to help calm me down. I spent more time in the gym than I did at home. Ms. Christy said I was a natural. I took to the air the way a fish takes to water.

He said, "That's about the age I started." I found myself trusting him. He seemed like an honest guy. I had gotten pretty good at reading people since my _she_ started hurting me. It was how I knew when to avoid her, though mornings were never a good time. It was my fault for being in the way.

I stepped up to the uneven bars and started my routine. All the pains of the morning disappeared and a smile broke across my face. I was flying. I loved the feeling when gravity seemed to relinquish its hold on me, just like I loved the comforting feeling of the shadows. Unfortunately flying usually brought a spot light on me, so I couldn't combine the two.

I finished my routine with the triple flip, though I really wanted to try the quad, I had a feeling it would be counterproductive to try to pull it off right now, when I could feel so many sets of eyes on me. It would be during the hour that Ms. Christy was filling out paper work when she let me work on my gymnastics by myself that I would manage to pull off the move.

Richard said, "Your a natural." I smiled shyly and blushed at the praise. He said, "In fact, with a bit of practice, I bet you'll be able to pull off a quad." I flushed further.

I said, "I hope so, but I'm not sure."

He said, "Just tuck yourself tighter during your dismount, and you'll have it."

I nodded and went up on the bars. I switched to the higher of the two, and did a couple of giants to build up speed. I felt the moment when I needed to release, and my momentum flung me into the air. I tucked my body tight, and did four neat rotations. I even managed to stick the landing. I gasped in slight shock.

Richard said, "Good job Zara." I heard applause, and turned to see my dad standing there I smiled brightly, glad that he got to see my first quad.

I felt some of the other girl's glaring at my most recent achievement. They would probably harass me while they could, but there was only so much they could do when I arrived hours earlier and left hours later.

Ms. Christy said, "Alright, Shay, you can work with Mr. Grayson next." Shay glared at me as she walked towards the uneven bars. She despised me, since I was the only person that challenged her. She was the best after me. I just smiled back. I still felt the euphoria that came with flying on the uneven bars.

I removed the grips and brushed the remaining chalk off of my hands. I went over to the balance beam, but instead of working on the routine Ms. Christy and I had worked on together that morning, I decided to do moves that made me feel like I was flying. It was harder on the beam, but with lots of aerials and other harder moves I soon got the same rush I felt when flying on the bars. I spent more time off the beam than on it, and it actually felt more relaxing then my sleep the night before had been.

I was only slightly aware of several of the younger girls watching me. We didn't have enough kids to stagger the classes, so the older kids and the younger kids had to compete for time on the equipment. I dismounted, and the younger kids broke into applause. I blushed again, and wished the gym wasn't so well lit, so I could slide into the shadows.

I felt the sweat pouring off my body, so I went over to my bag to grab a towel I wiped the sweat away, double checking to make sure that the makeup hadn't come off, and being careful not to wipe it off.

I did a bit of homework that had collected over the week, and waited for one of the pieces of equipment to open up. I didn't even hear Richard walk up to me, which made me jump almost a full three feet in the air. I hated it when people snuck up on me. I didn't notice my leg rubbing against the bench I had been sitting on, leaving a scar in the heavy makeup and a tan line on the bench.

He saw my leg and asked, "When did this happen?"

I almost sighed in relief at the safety of the question. I replied easily, "This morning."

His next question ripped that sigh from me, "Who did this?" How he could tell it was a who and not a what was beyond me at that moment.

I stuttered for a moment, not sure how to answer. If I told him the truth, he would just assume I was lying just like every other adult I had tried to tell. If I lied, than he would probably be able to tell that, just to insure I couldn't have more than one nice adult in my life. Ms. Christy had come to suspect that my home life wasn't perfect, but as long as I didn't say anything that relationship would continue. Somehow the few adults that had believed me always ended up avoiding me or going missing.

I made up my mind and said quietly, "It was my mom." The truth hurt. A single tear slipped down my cheek before I could force back the rest. One person knowing was more than enough.

Richard's voice softened, he asked, "Does your dad know?"

I said fighting back tears, "I don't know."

Richard asked, "How long?"

I replied, "Since I was three." I remembered that first time with utmost clarity. It had been one punch to the ribs, but that one punch had opened the door to so much more. It was like _she_ couldn't stop hitting me. Sometimes _she_ would smile in the same way she did when she got her fix. Like hurting me was just another drug she was on.

Richard said, "I can make it stop."

I said, "No, no one who believes me is ever able to stop it. They stop talking to me altogether most of the time. Everyone else takes her word over mine."

Understanding showed in his eyes. He asked quietly, "Is that why you keep it a secret?"

I nodded still fighting back the tears that threatened to show.

Richard said, "I promise I'll help."

I nodded again, not really believing his words. There were several others that had made that promise. All of them had failed. Why should I get my hopes up now?

He went back to the uneven bars, and I took control of myself before heading over to the floor to practice my routine on it with Ms. Christy. She didn't notice the pain I hid behind a fake smile. Flying calmed me down, but I wished I could fly away from my mother like birds do.

**I'll only continue if someone asks me to. This is my first OC story, and I don't really think it's that good.**


	2. Nuclear War

**For those of you that reviewed, you guys are awesome.**

**randomkitty101-Zara is going to be seven and Dick is twenty. Zara has short black hair, sky blue eyes, and is a little short for her age**.

I walked in the door and winced when I heard it slam behind me. There was nothing to do about it now. I had managed to pull off the quad like ten more times before Ms. Christy made me leave. My muscles ached, but it had distracted me from the promise Richard had made.

I heard _her_ and dad talking to each other. I sighed in relief. _She_ never hurt me when dad was home. I set my gym bag by the door and walked into the kitchen, where dad and _her_ were currently conversing. I grabbed a bag of crackers to eat. I heard the phone ring, and silently prayed it wasn't Richard. If he was calling my house, he really had no idea of how to help me. Then again, I didn't know how to help me either.

Dad stood to pick up the phone. He greeted who ever was on the line, and then he slowly became angry. He wasn't glaring at me, as he would if it was my teacher calling to tell him I had been doing dangerous stunts, he was glaring at _her_, which actually scared me more, since _she_ was glaring right back. I sank into the deepening shadows in the small space between the dishwasher and the cabinet next to it. I hadn't been close enough to use it that morning, but with what seemed like a nuclear war about to happen, I was glad I was now.

Dad hung up the phone with a curt, "I'll deal with it." He glared at mom and demanded, "Have you been abusing our daughter?"

_She_ glared back and retorted, "What if I have? Your too weak to do anything about it. You can't even stand up to your push over boss."

I plugged my ears then, but I couldn't tear my eyes from the scene. They were yelling at each other, and then suddenly _she_ had a knife in her hand. What seemed like an instant later, the knife was sticking out of dad's chest. I had to practically gag myself to keep from screaming. If I did that I would definitely suffer the same fate.

_She_ grabbed me from my hiding place and dragged me out the door. I was stuffed in the back seat of the car. I didn't know where _she_ planned on taking us, but I knew I wouldn't like it.


	3. Body

I couldn't smell the stink that came off of corpses yet. His body was still warm. Then I saw the photograph on the wall, and realized this was all my fault. I had called the man. He had confronted his wife. She had killed him. Zara was probably scarred for life like so many others I knew.

I told my partner, Officer Rohrbach, that I knew the girl and had an idea where she might be. We drove straight to the gym. As the senior officer, Rohrbach ordered me to go home. She said she would take care of it. Thankfully, I knew a way to make sure everything went right as someone other than Officer Grayson.


	4. The station didn't have any couches

I had gotten away as soon as _she_ had fallen asleep in our car. I had run straight to the gym without looking back. I needed to get away, and it was the only place I could think of. I knew where Ms. Christy left the spare key, so I went in, and started working on the bars again.

I heard the door open and looked over. I thought it would be Ms. Christy somehow informed about what happened. It wasn't. I tried to hide behind some equipment, but it was no use. _She_ had found me. She was dragging me towards the door, arm wrapped around my neck, and a knife to my throat.

I don't know where the cop came from. She had long blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. She said to _her_, "Put the knife down."

_She_ produced a gun from somewhere and said, "I don't think so. I've got protection. Blockbuster would be very upset if his favorite assassin was brought in by the police."

The cop said, "Care to say that into a microphone. I'd love to hear what one of the non-corrupt judges thought of that statement." The cop still hadn't pulled her weapon. _She_ was going to kill her. I kicked backwards, catching _her_ knee. It was enough of a distraction for me to get away from her and hide in the shadows of the dark gym.

I could see everything pretty clearly. My night vision was good from all the time I spent hiding in the shadows. The cop had finally pulled her gun, and she and _her_ were in the middle of a standoff.

That was when the guy showed up. I had seen the papers about the vigilante Nightwing that had apparently taken Blϋdhaven under his wing. That didn't make seeing him in action any less shocking. _She_ started fighting him hand to hand combat style. _She_ used a kick to take down the cop, so _she_'d only have to deal with one opponent.

They seemed so evenly matched, _her _and Nightwing. I slunk through the shadows to the cop, to make sure she wasn't dead. She would have a searing headache when she woke up, I would know having suffered the same injury several times, but she would be fine.

Suddenly I was pulled to my feet, gun to my head, arm wrapped around my shoulders. Nightwing was five yards away from me. _She_ was saying, "Stop, or I'll kill her."

I was having a panic attack. Crazy as it was, I flashed back to when it had happened during my first gymnastics meet.

I had been good even then, but the older girls were better. I was freaking out because I had to do a move I didn't think I could. Ms. Christy made me take deep breaths until I stopped shaking.

I realized how much _her_ hold on me was like a problem I had had on the uneven bars that night. Of course, I was moving fast then, and I was about to land on the upper of the two bars with my arms pinned to my sides do to my momentum. I was a few inches away from _She_'s body, so I flipped over her arm and ran as fast as I could.

I heard _her_ cry out. I breathed a sigh of relief. Nightwing had won.

Nightwing asked, "Are you okay?"

I nodded sure I wouldn't be able to say anything. I reached up to feel the stinging sensation at my neck. My fingers came away with blood. I remembered only then the knife _She_ had held to my throat. There wasn't much blood. It was probably just a scratch.

I took a deep breath. I realized I was crying. I could feel the hot wetness slipping down my face. I heard the sirens approaching. I would tell the cops everything. _She_ would kill me either way. When I looked up again, Nightwing was gone.

I sank to the floor. The cops came in ten minutes later. One of them checked on the still down officer that had tried to stop _her_. The second walked over to me. He looked familiar, but in my agitated state, I couldn't put two and two together without ending up with two. The officer asked me gently, "What happened?"

I pointed at _her_ still unconscious form and said, "_She _killed my dad. My mom killed my dad. They were shouting at each other, _she_ had a knife, then it was in his chest." I started sobbing.

I was vaguely aware of someone lifting me up and putting me in a car. I was practically asleep when I stumbled into the police station, still crying. I fell asleep curled up in someone's office chair. The station didn't have any couches.


	5. Turning Four Times

I woke up when someone roughly shook my shoulder. The officer that did it was saying, "C'mon kid. We've got to get going."

I stood up, followed him out of the station, and got into the backseat of the police cruiser. I was stupid. There are about a million and one good reasons never to trust a cop in Blüdhaven. I fell asleep in the backseat. I woke up tied to a chair.

I had been in this position before. I didn't untie the ropes. In the past, doing so had inevitably led to me getting hurt.

A man came in a few minutes later. He was tall, with blond hair and brown eyes. He had a foot ball player's build. Ms. Christy would have called him handsome, if not for the scar on his cheek. His right hand was healing from damage he had to have received recently. I had gotten hurt enough to tell.

He said in a gruff, I'll-kill-you-if-you-disobey voice, "You are going to stay quiet. If you do anything bad, I'll sell you down the river. I'm sure the League of Shadows would pay well for someone with your gymnastics ability."

I nodded my understanding. I fought back the tears of confusion. I didn't understand why they were keeping me here. Crying would only get me hurt though. I had to stay strong, so that didn't happen.

The man smiled sadistically. He stepped forward, lifted me and the chair up by my shirt, and threw me against the wall. I turned in midair, so the chair suffered the brunt of the impact. I couldn't fight back a small shriek of fear. The man's smile grew as he kicked me in the ribs and said, "Stay quiet."

I forced myself not to cry out.

Another man walked in. I didn't get a very good look at him, but he was obviously tall. He said, "The League will pay well for this one. Sell her after the trial."

The first man said, "Yes boss." They both left, shutting the door behind them.

_She_ had warned me of the repercussions of actively disobeying. _She_ wouldn't hesitate to sell me when _her_ trial was over. If someone had made an offer before this point, _she_ would have sold me then.

I fiddled nervously with the ropes. I was scared, fighting back tears, still in shock. I must have untied and retied the ropes ten times before I heard the sounds of yelling, gunfire, and explosions.

Thirty men backed into the room. They fanned out, trying to protect themselves. Not one of them noticed the shadow in the rafters. I stared at it openly, but they were to nervous to notice.

I fought off the laughter that tried to work it's way through my shock. There was nothing I could do about the hope that filled my eyes. There was a chance that I wouldn't be sold to the League of Shadows.

I untied my hands once more. Nightwing dropped down, so I slid into the shadows at the back of the room.

I watched in awe as he battled. I hadn't seen much of his battle with _her_, but now I could see how skillful he was. I saw a knife heading for a chink in his Kevlar. I couldn't see a safe escape for him.

I had been dealt many knife wounds with _her_ narration. _She_ had told me what a knife wound to that spot would mean. He wouldn't be able to use his arm afterwords. It would hang limply at his side, forever reminding him of his attempt to save me. I couldn't tear my eyes away, much like when the knife had gone into my dad's heart. My internal clock told me that had happened last night, but I remembered it like it had just happened.

Suddenly, Nightwing flung himself into the air, turning four times before landing. I recognized the move immediately. I had practiced it so many times the day before. Nightwing made a snarky comment to the remaining men, but I wasn't paying attention.

The number of people in the world that could pull the quad was very small. The likely hood of two of them going to the same tiny gym within twelve hours of each other was smaller. The likely hood of both of them trying to save the same small girl who was abused by her mother was even smaller. This led me to a simple conclusion. Richard was Nightwing.

**Dramatic music. Don't we all love cliff hangers?! I'll probably end up updating this today, or with in the following week.**


	6. This was all my fault

**I came to the realization that for this story to work out the way I want it to, Nightwing has to have been eighteen at the end of season one, so everyone is going to be a bit older. He's like twenty now.**

**By the way, I don't own Young Justice. Otherwise the Batclan would take down most threats with their shear awesome.**

I approached Zara slowly. I couldn't tell if she was frightened or in shock. Probably both. I heard her say, almost to her self, "Richard is Nightwing."

I almost didn't believe my ears. Then I remembered how I had escaped a knife wound with the quad. She would know how few people are able to do the quad. She was smart. She knew. It was my fault she was in the position she was in. I had promised to try to fix it, but I hadn't succeeded. I felt like I had a duty to still try to pull her life back together, to save it from the fire. Just like Bruce had for me. I owed her that much. This was all my fault.

I had to leave. Officer Rohrbach was the first officer on the scene. That was good. Any other cop would just take her back to Blockbuster. I knew he was the one who organized this, though I couldn't prove it. I went back to the police station, changing into officer Grayson on my way. I was starving, since I had spent my lunch break rescuing Zara, but she was safe now, or at least as safe as she could be while with any Blüdhaven Police officer. I realized that the knowledge she now held would also put her in danger.

The police cruiser hadn't gone five blocks when the back tires were shot out. They weren't even bothering to use silencers.

Officer Rohrbach was yelling, "Get down!"

I managed to undo my buckle and slide into the small area under the dash. The door was flung open, and someone ripped me out of the car. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that somehow Nightwing had stuck around. I was guessing he had left quickly. He needed an alibi for his time in case I told any one anything. I wouldn't. He had saved my life twice already. Three times, if you included the fact that _she_ would have gotten me killed eventually.

A rag was put over my mouth. I sucked in a breath instinctively. The drug on it made me pass out almost instantly.


	7. We've got to stop meeting like this

I woke up chained to the wall of a giant bird cage. Looking around, I immediately noticed Robin. I saw he was a couple years older than me, chained up on the other side of the cage. He wasn't hand cuffed like me though. They had entirely encased his hands and wrists in metal.

He woke up a few minutes later, glaring around annoyed. He saw me, and he half asked half demanded, "Are you okay?

I nodded.

The blond man that had thrown me in the last warehouse came in. He said in that same, I'll-kill-you-if-you-disobey voice, that I was beginning to believe was just his natural voice, "Your lucky we got the bird when we took you this time, or I would not hesitate to kill you."

Robin said still annoyed, "You're threatening the wrong person."

The man ignored Robin and said, "I warned you what would happen if you disobeyed. The League of Shadows will gladly take both of you. Anymore funny business and I'm sure I can find a buyer in the Light even worse than them. If not, well, Warlords are always looking for new slaves."

I bowed my head in acceptance of my fate. I was being sold.

The man smiled his sadistic smile once more. I only saw it out of the corner of my eye. He left.

Robin again half asked half demanded, "What was that about?"

I said quietly, "I disobeyed _her_ by letting someone find out. This is my punishment. My only question is, how did you get pulled into this?"

Robin seemed to soften slightly and said, "I heard you scream. I tried to save you, but one of them grabbed me from behind. I could have taken them if I hadn't been distracted. So, why were you in a cop car in the first place?"

I said quietly again, "It's a long story."

Robin said, "I'm kind of stuck here."

I sighed, but started to tell him about the last, couple of days. I cried several times during the course of the telling and left out the bit where I figured out Nightwing was Richard, just in case the room was bugged.

Robin nearly growled at the end, "This was Golden Boy's fault."

I asked confused, "Is that what you call Nightwing?

Robin nodded once.

I said, "It wasn't his fault. Things would have come to a head eventually. He's saved my life three times already." I realized my slip up, but thankfully Robin didn't notice.

Robin said, slightly less angrily, "He's supposed to be better than that."

I said, "If it was any other person but _her_ it would have worked."

Robin just shook his head.

I shifted my wrist slightly. I saw the scar that had faded away, once again appearing on my wrist. I realized that this situation was surprisingly similar to that one. The squares formed by the metal bars would surely work much like the walls had in the closet. They would actually work better.

Grabbing the chain just above my wrists, I started swinging left and right. If the criminals had been smart, they would have used to sets of hand cuffs on my wrists. They had even extended the chain on the handcuffs, making it much easier for me to swing up to the height I needed. I swung until, at the apex of my swing, the weight was no longer on my arms. I grabbed onto the highest horizontal bar I could with my legs. I used my legs and arms to climb over to the bar that my chain was attached to. I pulled out the bobby pin I kept in my hair, and started picking the locks on the hand cuffs. It didn't take me long to finish.

Robin asked, trying to hide the incredulous tone in his voice, "Where did you learn to do that?"

I said, "_She_ got creative every summer. It turns out escaping a closet when chained to the ceiling is similar to escaping a bird cage when chained to one poll." I climbed around the cage and started picking the locks on the metal encasements that held his hands.

Robin asked, "Why didn't you ever run?"

I said, "I did once. She caught me within a day. I couldn't do gymnastics for a month after that. It wasn't worth the pain."

I finished with one hand and did an unnecessary double to get to the other one. The second hand took me half as long. Robin dropped down to the floor of the cage. I followed close behind him.

We both looked at the cage door. I pushed against it, and it swung open.

I said, "This is way too easy."

Robin said, "So, they majorly underestimated us. They're loss."

We jumped to the floor of the warehouse the bird cage was hanging in.

I asked Robin, "Any idea where we are?"

Robin said, "Warehouse district of some large city. Does it really matter?"

I said, "It'll tell us which direction to go to get back to Blϋdhaven."

Robin said, "We'll have to get out of here first."

That was when the man came back. He wasn't expecting Robin to tackle him. The fight was over quickly. Robin was victorious.

I saw more men coming. I slid into the shadows to Robin's right. He started fighting. He didn't use gymnastics. He had some martial arts, but even I could tell Nightwing had more skill. He threw harder punches to. He blocked more then he dodged.

I winced as Robin got hit on the back of the head. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. I slid out of the shadows, and dealt one fast kick to one of the men's knee caps before retreating again. I had no martial arts training, but I knew pain. Enough had been dealt out to me, that I knew how to deal some.

I slid out of the shadows whenever one of them got to close, trying hard to even the odds. It wasn't working well. They just kept coming into the large room.

Suddenly, Robin was down. The men were looking around for me. I was trying to take them down while remaining hidden. I slid into a small bit of shadow. Suddenly, there was a low his, and smoke filled the air. I covered my face with my shirt, and ducked behind some crates. I heard the sound of fighting.

I sank further against the crates, hoping this new third party wasn't going to kidnap me. It had already happened to many times that weekend.

Suddenly, there was an easily recognizable black form in front of me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Nightwing said quietly, "We've got to stop meeting like this."

That brought a small smile to my lips.

Nightwing lifted me up. I felt a little safer. Safer then I had in years of living with _her_. I cried then because I could without the fear of getting attacked because of it.


	8. Where are we going?

Batman and Nightwing had taken Robin and I back to the batcave. It had taken a moment for Nightwing to convince Batman it was okay for me to be there. The short argument had ended with Nightwing telling him I had already figured out his identity, and it wouldn't take much for me to figure out the other two's. Batman had gone over to a computer bank after treating Robin's head wound.

Nightwing, now in regular clothes, so Richard, was telling me how he found us as he treated the minor injuries I had received over the last few days, "So, after I saved you the second time, I went back to work. It wasn't until my shift was over that Batman called me to check in on Robin. When I told him I hadn't seen him in two weeks, we both kind of freaked out. Seconds later, Officer Rohrbach called me and told me you had been captured again, even though a certain boy wonder had attempted to rescue you."

Robin interjected, "I would have succeeded if I had been in Gotham. How was I supposed to know that that particular cop was bad?"

Richard said, "unless it's Rohrbach or me, they're probably corrupt."

Robin stuck out his tongue at Richard. Richard returned the gesture.

Richard continued the story, "Any way, so I figured the people who I had rescued you from had managed to take you back, so I started tracking them down. Batman showed up with another lead, just as mine ran out. We followed it, and it led us to the warehouse you two were in."

Another figure entered the batcave. She had a bat like costume, but she was shorter, slimmer, and had long red hair coming out of the back of her cowl. She said, "he left out the bit where they cursed at the same moment when Dick said he hadn't seen Robin in two weeks. That was great."

Richard, Dick I guess, said quietly to me, "I'll probably never hear the end of that one."

I smiled a little.

A tall elderly gentleman in a suit came down the stairs to the batcave next.

Dick said, "I think I'll stay here tonight Alfred."

The elderly man, Alfred since he responded to the name, said, "I'll prepare your room master Dick."

Dick said, "Thanks."

I yawned. Getting knocked out didn't really count as proper sleep.

I was sort of wondering where I would sleep tonight. I didn't really have anyone to stay with in Blüdhaven. Ms. Christy already had five kids to look after, and I knew she was struggling to take care of them.

Dick picked me up off the counter he had set me on and put me on the ground. Robin wandered towards what looked like a changing room. I yawned again wider.

Dick chuckled and said, "Your tongue curls when you yawn."

I frowned and said quietly, "Sorry."

Dick said, "It's nothing to be sorry about." He took my hand from where it hung limply at my side and started to lead me upstairs.

I asked, "Where are we going?"

Dick said, "Well, I don't really enjoy sleeping in the batcave, and since you just yawned twice I assume your tired. I figured we could go upstairs and get some sleep."

I nodded and followed him up the stairs. I noticed that his feet didn't make a sound on the stone stairs. Mine didn't either, so it didn't sound like anyone was coming up the stairs. I smiled at that, but the smile was swiftly replaced by another yawn. I was really tired. My steps slowed a little and suddenly I was lifted up. I looked at Dick. He smiled at me. I relaxed against his shoulder. It didn't take me long to fall to sleep.


	9. Breakfast with the Batfamily

I woke up on and overly soft bed shaking. I knew I needed to move. To do something before I was overwhelmed by the memories trying to surge through me. They weren't the memories of the last few days, but of those summers.

I got out of bed. A digital clock by it claimed it was five in the morning. The sun was just peaking over the horizon. I was still wearing the same jeans and T-shirt I had put on after Ms. Christy made me leave that night. I would need a change of clothes. My stomach growled and I amended, after I get some food.

I walked out of the door of the huge room, and into a long hallway. I was surprised to smell food already cooking. I followed my nose, and quickly found the large kitchen.

Alfred was cooking, a white apron covering his suit. He somehow heard me come in, though I was just as silent as always, and said, "Ah, mistress Zara I presume."

I nodded once in confirmation. I watched as he deftly flipped the pancakes on the large griddle. He seemed very skilled.

Alfred asked, "Would you like some of these pancakes?"

I said, "Yes please."

Somehow, while flipping pancakes with his right hand he caught three done ones with a plate he held in his left. I smiled at the feat. Alfred set the plate down on the table that took up one corner of the kitchen. All the toppings I could possibly want on my pancakes were there. I opted for the heated up maple syrup, carefully pouring it, so it didn't spill.

Dick came in a few minutes later, smiling brightly. He was followed by a grumbling boy, a few years older then me, that I could only assume was Robin. Both sat down at the kitchen table, greeting Alfred as they passed.

Dick said, "Mornings sure are great. Right Jason?"

The boy that had to be Robin, who must be Jason since he was the only other person in the room, just growled in response. His head rested on the table, like he was trying to get extra sleep.

I giggled near silently, though the bell like tone seemed to echo off the kitchen walls.

Dick smiled brightly at me and said, "At least someone appreciates my humor."

Jason punched him in the arm, not really trying to hurt him from what I could see. Dick pretended to be more hurt then he really was. Alfred distracted them both by bringing them food.

I ate my pancakes efficiently, still hungry when I was finished, but afraid to ask for more. Alfred just set a few more on my plate. I smiled, glad I hadn't had to ask, and again carefully poured the syrup, though Dick and Jason had already basically coated the table.

The girl with red hair, no longer in costume, came through the kitchen door and asked, "Did you leave enough pancakes for me?"

Dick nodded and attempted to say yes around a mouthful of food.

The girl just rolled her eyes. Alfred handed her a plate. She grabbed one of the remaining chairs and started to prepare her own pancakes. She said to me, "I don't think I had a chance to properly introduce myself last night, I'm Barbra Gordon, also known as Batgirl just Barb is fine though."

I said quietly, "Nice to meet you."

Jason was awake enough now to say, "You don't have to lie. She's really a terrible person."

Barb punched him playfully.

I laughed again, still quietly, but slightly more freely.

Dick said, "The truth is they're both awful people. I wouldn't suggest going on patrol with either of them. They can't take a joke."

Barb said, "Your idea of a joke usually involves getting one or both of us to prank Bruce, and you know how that turns out," she explained to me, "Bruce always gets you back ten times worse then what you did to him."

I heard the near silent steps as another figure entered the room. Barb, Jason, and Dick were looking at me, so they didn't see him enter. I couldn't hold back the grin that slipped across my face.

Jason said, "That, or he just grounds us from patrol for an unnecessarily long amount of time."

Dick was the first to notice my smile. He glanced around the room and stared just over Jason's head, where Bruce, as I assumed he was called, stood.

Jason saw the look and turned. The look of horror on his face was pretty funny, since I was ninety percent sure none of these people would hurt each other on purpose.

Barb turned pink and quickly took a bite of her pancakes. Jason turned back to do the same. He hadn't noticed Dick move his plate out of reach, so he accidentally stabbed empty air.

Dick and I both laughed at that.

Bruce glared at Jason seeming to say, 'We both know you regret what you just said, but I'm going to let you stew, just to torture you a little more.'

Alfred set a plate of pancakes at the front of the table. Dick pushed Jason's plate back into place, so Jason's elbow landed in it when he tried to stand up. Even Barb laughed with us at that.

Jason took a moment to glare at Dick. It seemed like these people could have entire conversations with just one look. I liked that. I was generally quiet, so being able to communicate without talking would be a useful skill.

Jason's glare seemed to say, 'I'll get you for this later.'

Dick just laughed.

I picked up my empty plate and put it in the sink. Jason came over to clean off his elbow.

He asked quietly, "So, what do you think of breakfast with the batfamily?"

I thought back to my last morning with _her_ and said in an equally quiet tone, "It's great."


	10. Scar

**To answer your questions ISCMHF, I might. I haven't really developed the plot to the point of her interactions with individual members of Young Justice. In fact, in case you didn't notice by the long periods of time between updates, I'm writing this chapter to chapter.**

**Also, if any of you saw the previous incarnation of chapter ten, I took it down because it didn't fit where I want the story to go. There may be a scene like it later, but probably not. It was just kind of stupid. This one is better, at lest, in my opinion.**

**On a third note, for the flash back scene, I italasized all the words, so when _she_ is mentioned it's italasized and bolded.**

I wasn't paying attention to the stupid cartoon Jason was watching. He was supposed to be doing the homework laid out on the table in front of him.

I could barely take another ten seconds of this. I had once been tied up in a completely white room for hours with nothing to do, but I was more bored now than I was then. At least I could think without the cartoon character's annoyingly high pitched voices breaking in.

I put my hands on either side of my body and straightened them, holding my body a few inches above the cushy chair I was sitting in. In one swift move, I switched to a full on handstand, turning my body, so I could still see the TV. I laughed now watching the previously boring scenes magically become funny again just by changing my own perspective.

When the commercial break hit, I flipped onto my feet, going over the back of the chair. I did a couple of floor moves, though without the springy floor it was a lot harder. Jason was half doing his homework half staring at the commercials. I cartwheeled back across the room before switching to handsprings to cross it again. I heard the door open behind me, and I knew that it was directly in the path of the back handspring I had already launched into. I twisted in midair, running against the door with my feet and pushing off of it, only to again land on my feet halfway across the room. Thankfully, whoever had opened the door was strong enough not to get thrown backwards.

I was instinctively sinking into the shadows, flinching as the door opened wider, hoping that some how the inevitable pain wasn't inevitable, dreaming that that pain would never come, curling up protectively around the less durable parts of my body, knowing it would no matter what I did, trying to think of a possibility where there was no pain.

_I knew that if I untied the ropes around my hands I would fall into the acid pit below me. **She** was standing just out side the pit saying, "Zara, you shouldn't have done that. There's a reason why we don't do gymnastics in the house."_

_My flesh started burning. I was to high over the acid for that to be the cause, so it must just be there to keep me in place. I saw the ray like gun she held in her hands pointed at the spot that I could feel the burn forming._

_I cried out, "I won't let it happen again. Please stop. You're hurting me."_

_**She** said, "I don't think you've learned your lesson yet. Besides, scars are much more memorable." The pain increased._

I touched the scar I had gotten from that encounter. It covered three of my ribs on my right side. _She_ hadn't left many scars, but the ones that were there never needed the lesson behind them to be taught again. I lifted my shirt just enough to stare at the mutilated flesh. It wasn't the freshest scar, but it was more recent than most.

I heard a slight gasp come from Dick when he saw the scar. I was glad he had yet to see the worst and freshest. It still stung a bit from time to time, never getting the chance to properly heal with all my activity.

Jason only then turned to see the scene going on behind him. He could see the scar from where he sat. He didn't gasp, but he looked shocked.

I flinched away when Dick came closer. I was still anticipating the pain. I told you that those lessons I had received scars during never needed to be retaught. That was because they were the ones I was most afraid of relearning. I knew it would be more painful the second time around.

Dick came towards me more slowly. I was trying to calm down. I was still half in the shadows. I knew they would welcome me into their comforting folds as they always did in dark rooms like this. I was pretty sure that was why _she_ had made sure the apartment was so well lit. Dick was beside me. His shadow falling over me. That was enough for me to calm down.

Dick bent down and gently played his fingers over the scar. I flinched a little. It still tickled even with the damaged flesh. Dick's gentle fingers continued the motion lingering now, and I couldn't help releasing a bell like laugh.

I squirmed under his tickling, probably acting my age for the first time in years. He finally stopped when I was gasping for breath.

It wasn't like the last time I couldn't stop laughing. That was when _she_ had been testing something for someone very scary. I had hated how _she_ just let him watch with her. It used to be the only time I laughed.

I hated it when he asked _her_ to test things on me. I always saw the money changing hands. It's what let me know _her_ threats about selling me to the League of Shadows when I got older were real.

I was still smiling. It was my usual small smile, but I was smiling. The one time I had smiled too large was when he had had _her_ test something else on me. I had hated that. I couldn't stop smiling no matter what I did.

I curled my legs in and fingered the small scar I knew was there from one of those experiments. Moving while laughing uncontrollably is virtually impossible. Dodging knives is impossible.

Dick didn't see the movement. He put his arm around my shoulder and whispered to me, "I won't hurt you no matter what you do. Not when I'm in my right mind."

I smiled, hoped that I could trust his promise again, and relaxed a bit more.


	11. Making Deals with Maniacs

_She_ was not happy to be confined. _She_ quickly picked through the lock that attempted to confine _her_. Knocking out the guards was easy enough as well. It was then _she_ realized they had sent her to Arkham. It wouldn't be to hard to get a favor from an old friend.

Every guard saw her coming before they were taken out. _She_ liked the look in their eyes when they realized they were going to die. It was to easy to get into the high security section of Arkham. The guard had let _her_ in, trying to save his own life. _She_ had killed him for his cowardice. The rest had the honor of defensive wounds. He got only a stab in the back.

_She_ went down the long hallway, passed all the other cells. _She _was following the sound of maniacal laughter echoing off the walls. It didn't take _her_ long to reach the end of the hallway. The lock on this door was more complex, but _she_ got through it quickly.

Joker stepped out of his cell still laughing.

_She_ said, "I want one thing in exchange for your freedom."

Joker said, "Ooo making deals with maniacs. Sounds dangerous for a mother."

_She_ said, "One of the Bats stole Zara from me. I want your help with killing him and turning her to our way of seeing things."

Joker said, "This will be a killing joke than." He laughed in glee.

_She_ said, "Yes, but Zara will live to do her duty for the Shadows."

Joker said, "Ah, a parent's unconditional love. Turning your daughter may be more daunting a trial then it seems. Bats have a hard time letting go of their charges. Their charges have an even harder time letting go of the Bats."

_She_ said, "Then we will turn them on each other."

Joker laughed again and said, "You are a crazy one my dear. No wonder they decided you would fit right in." He continued cackling. He asked after his latest bout, "How did you escape my dear? The locks here are called unpick-able by the best."

_She_ said, "You of all people should know Joker, no prison can hold me."

Joker said, "Ah, but the prison of parent hood has encased you for longer than you expected."

_She_ smiled viciously and said, "It got easier when I let myself hurt her."

Joker said with a laugh, "And on that day a new villainess was born. May she strike fear in the heart of vigilantes, heroes, and all general do gooders."

_She_ said, "And so she will." It didn't take long for them to leave the cell block. They grabbed a few allies as they left.

**Four things I would like to say: First and foremost, the season finally for Young Justice: Invasion was awesome, except for the part where KF didn't make it; Second, please sign one of the many petitions to keep the show going; Third, this chapter will probably be one of the last that I refer to ****_her_**** as ****_she, _****I'm working out ideas for a better name as I type this; Fourth, I was very surprised by how few reviews I received for my last chapter. They are appreciated, and I try to answer all questions asked.**

**Most sincerely from**

**-Zaraizabell**

**P.S. The petition I signed was at the following link**

petitions/cartoon-network-warner-bros-bring-back-young-justice-and-green-lantern-the-animated-series?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email


	12. Kidnapped

I was alone. Well, technically Alfred was just in the batcave, but I wasn't sure how to get to its entrance. Bruce was working with the Justice League. Barb, Dick, and Jason were working with a covert Team of heroes that called themselves Young Justice. Alfred was helping them get to the crimes being committed.

I had been watching the news. It wasn't exactly my smartest plan, but I didn't want to watch reruns of cartoons. The news lady had just reported that several major villains had just escaped from Arkham asylum, when I heard the front door open. Someone opened the living room door.

I could barely hear the sound of them walking over the news. Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind. I instinctively fought my way out and started running. I was out the door in less than a minute.

I had a general idea where I was in comparison to Gotham. I had been in the city a couple of times. I ran down the long drive, moving quickly. It was easy to use the high fence as a vault. I turned twice before hitting the ground. I was off again the second it was beneath my feet. It didn't take me long to reach Gotham. I knew that a girl my age running around the streets alone at this time of night looked suspicious, so I stuck to the shadows. I slid fluidly from one to the next, and I was fairly certain that most people on the street that night didn't even see me.

It was the one of the ones that didn't see me that gave me trouble. A man in a black costume with a red lightning bolt on it ran straight into me. I caught myself by doing a back flip and ran into a nearby ally.

The man called, "Wait!"

I just pushed myself harder.

Somehow, he caught up to me, and got in front of me. I dodged out of the way of his grabbing hand, and hit the back of his knee with a closed fist. He fell but almost immediately popped back up.

I knew I wouldn't be able to beat him, so I ran to the nearest fire escape, and used my gymnastics to climb straight up the side. I got to the roof, but somehow the man had gotten there first.

I started running again. That was when I heard the explosions. I ran away from them, knowing that _she_ would be near them. The man followed.

I stopped suddenly, accepting that he had more endurance and better speed, and demanded, "What do you want from me?"

The man said, "I just want to know where I can take you where you'll be safe."

I said, "There isn't anywhere. Someone just tried to take me from my home. Wait, your a hero?"

The man nodded confirmation.

I could hear the people converging around us on the roof. The near silent steps and number told me it could only be the League of Shadows. I said, "I think there are assassins coming our way."

That was when they chose to leave the shadows. They had come in , forming a circle around me and the man.

The man said, "Really, you think you can beat me?"

One of the assassins said, "We don't need to beat you." They started attacking him. One of them grabbed me from behind. I tried to struggle, but the quickly handcuffed and gagged me. The same assassin finished as we disappeared, "We just need to distract you long enough to get the girl. Tell Nightwing he has till midnight to find her, or she'll go out with a bang."

Kid Flash said in my ear piece, "Hey Nightwing, is there a reason why a bunch of assassins just kidnapped a little girl that could move through the shadows as well as Batman can?"

I let out quite a few choice words about how I felt towards those assassins before saying, "Yes."

Kid Flash said, "Well, they said," he intimidated the assassins in an overly high pitched voice, "you have until midnight to find her, or she'll go out with a bang."

I cursed again.

Batgirl said, "We have to find her."

I said, "You guys need to take care of the explosions all over town. I'll find her."

Batgirl gave me a look like, 'if you fail, and they kill you, I will bring you back to life to kill you again for giving Zara false hope.' If you don't think that can be conveyed in a look, your wrong. It's quite frightening. If I hadn't seen the batglare almost every day between the ages of nine and eighteen, I might have flinched. As it was, I just nodded in acceptance and threw myself off the roof to start tracking down the people that took Zara.

**So...KF hasn't gone off to live with Artemis yet in my story.**


	13. Harrier

They hadn't knocked me out, but they had blindfolded me. I tried to struggle, but every time I did I was hit with a massive electric shock. The van they had thrown me in before putting on the blindfold pulled to a stop. I was ripped from my place on the floor and tossed roughly. I instinctively turned in midair and landed on my feet.

I was shoved roughly from behind. A deep voice growled, "Any more funny business and you won't get to Harrier at all." I had no idea who Harrier was, but I knew I didn't want to die, so when I was shoved forward again, I started walking forward.

I heard a door open and I felt the breeze die when I entered the door. That meant we were inside. I was deposited in a chair, though they didn't tie me to it. Someone ripped off the blindfold.

That was when I saw _her_.

"Here she is Harrier," the man with the deep voice said. He sounded kind of afraid. I knew how he felt. _She_, Harrier I guess, could instill fear in anyone.

I asked quietly, "What do you want?"

Several of the men around me gasped. That isn't the sort of thing any one that knew _her_ would dare to say to Harrier. I knew I was getting punished anyway, so I might as well make the most of it.

Harrier said, "Spending time with the Bats has made you brave. It shouldn't be much longer before they get here. We gave Nightwing an hour. Joker told me it would likely take him half of that to find you."

That was when the maniacal laughter started. I shivered. That laughter had been the back drop to so much pain that hadn't even left a mark on me, or at least, no lasting marks.

Harrier roughly shoved sunglasses on my face. _She_ never let him or any of the other villains see my eyes. Apparently, none of them knew _her_ real name. I didn't even know _her_ real name, but I knew what color _her_ eyes were. _She_ wore sunglasses to.

I picked the lock behind my back. _She_ knew I would, otherwise _she_ would have put me in something more secure. _She_ would make it dangerous for me to free myself.

Joker said, "now now, we can't the newest baby bat freeing herself so soon." He tore the bobby pin from my fingers and slammed the cuffs closed. He tightened them one click to tight.

I wondered if what he said was true. Had Nightwing planned on training me? I hoped he had. That way I would be able to fight my way out of this.

I had already accepted that, without help, escape was hopeless. I just had to hope Nightwing or any hero would find me soon.

Harrier said, "You know the punishment for running Z," s_he _called me Z when ever there were other villains present, "I already gave you a scar for it. I suppose the lesson just didn't quite sink in. Maybe you'll understand better this time around."

I felt the thorn covered vines circle around my ankles, making as many loops as possible, stabbing me as many times as they could. Another set of vines worked their way up my arms. I was crying silent tears. Making noise only encouraged them. If I could have stopped crying, I would have. It encouraged them to.

It took me fifteen minutes to pull up the tracker I had put on one of Zara's shoes and get to the warehouse she was being kept in. She was being held in a chair by vines. Strangely enough, she was wearing sunglasses. Every major villain from Gotham and the majority of the minor ones seemed to be there. The leader seemed to be the woman that had fought me that night in the gym.

Zara begged, tears streaming down her face, "وقف، سأكون جيدة. تتوقف فقط. Stopp, ich werde gut sein. Einfach aufhören. Detener, voy a estar bien. Sólo detente. Arrêtez, je vais être bon. Il suffit de cesser. Immo ego bonus. Iustus subsisto. תפסיק, אני אהיה טוב. פשוט תפסיק. Stop, sarò buona. Smettila. 停止し、私は良いでしょう。ちょうど停止。마, 나 잘 수 있습니다. 그냥 중지합니다. Стоп, я буду хорошим. Просто остановитесь. Стоп, я буду хорошим. Просто зупиніться. Dừng lại, tôi sẽ được tốt. Chỉ cần dừng lại. Stop, I'll be good. Just stop." She knew the phrase in more languages than even I spoke. I still knew she was repeating the same phrase.

The woman said, "I don't think you will Z. My other lessons didn't seem to make you think twice about going with the Bats."

Zara cried, "Please, I'll do anything. Just make it stop!"

Joker laughed and said, "Oh, Z, you really are pitiful. It's a wonder Harrier here puts up with you at all."

Zara flinched away from his maniacal laughter.

I was horribly out numbered, so I did what any Bat would do when faced with that many villains, I went silently into the building and stuck to the shadows. I took down as many of them as I could without making any sound. I made my way slowly towards Zara.

Harrier, I was guessing she was the one Joker was referring to, said, "Even the League of Shadows won't take you if you can't handle a little pain. Your crying will only make it steadily worse."

Zara's tears stopped flowing. Her emotions disappeared behind a mask of blankness. She looked the way people did when they tried to play that straight face game, except instead of trying not to smile, she was trying not to cry.

Harrier said, "Still not good enough." She hit Zara hard in the gut.

Zara hid the pain well. If my mentor had been anyone else, I wouldn't have seen it. However, 'emotionless' Batman had been my mentor, so I had learned how to read even the slightest sign of emotion.

Harrier said, "Alright Z, Nightwing is going to show up soon. You have to choices. You can fight him, or you can be forced to go through all the lessons again ten times worse. Then I'll give him the lessons while you watch. Now, you may think he'll save you, but he won't. He doesn't love you. He doesn't teach you. That's what I do."

I could only pray that Zara wouldn't believe her, as I moved slowly around the room.

Suddenly, I was pushed forward from behind. R'as al Ghoul said from behind me, "Our guest of honor has arrived. Show me what the girl can do."

**Sudden realization, this is chapter 13, and it's the chapter where the good guys seem to have the worst luck**

**By the way, if any of the foreign language stuff is incorrect, I place full blame on Google translate.**

**On a third note, thank you for all the reviews.**

**Finally, I'd like to thank all of you that chose to follow my story. It adds incentive for me to write new chapters.**


	14. Story

I limped into the batcave. Zara let out a low moan in my arms. She was hurt badly. I had to get her to the medical station. I almost didn't make it. If Batman hadn't come through the Zeta Beam when he did, I wouldn't have.

He didn't ask any questions. He just helped me limp the rest of the way to the medical station with Zara. He called Alfred down stairs, who quickly called Leslie when he saw the amount of blood that soaked Zara's clothes and my uniform. I put Zara down gently on one of the tables. She let out another moan.

Batman pushed me over to another table. I tried to resist, but I was too exhausted to do much more then aim a weak push his way. I realized about a quarter of the blood that was on me was my own. That was why Batman was insisting that I lay down and let him or Alfred treat me. Logic was beginning to make sense again.

I took a deep breath and let my body ease back onto the hard table like cot. I barely even heard Leslie's car come in. She rushed over to me, but I groaned, "Treat Z first." I barely registered her look of confusion.

I heard Batman say, "He means the girl on the other table." Leave it to Batman to make inferences in a half second.

Leslie's face left my line of sight. I waited a few minutes before I groaned out, "will she be okay?"

Leslie replied clearly, "I think so. Her arm broke cleanly, but several of these cuts need stiches. She'll need a transfusion. Do you know her blood type?"

I tried to answer but sleep over took me before I could.

I woke up to the sound of a soft periodic beeping. I sat up slowly. The beeping was coming from a pair of heart monitors. The one closer to me was beginning to beep faster. Batgirl came in in full hero garb.

She said, "Oh, you're awake. The Team was worried about what happened to you. It took Batman to make sure they didn't come to the batcave to check on you."

I asked, "Is Zara okay?" I could see her sleeping peacefully next to me, but that could mean anything.

Batgirl said, "Yeah, she'll be fine. I came in a little while after you. You should have seen the look on Batman's face. If all those villains hadn't been returned to Arkham, then they would have had to go to the hospital first."

I said, "Quite a few of them did."

Batgirl asked, "What happened?"

I thought back to the events that had led to me limping into the batcave and said, "I'd rather only tell the story once."

Batgirl said, "I can get Bruce and Jason down here if you want to get it off your chest."

I nodded.

When she left, I glanced worriedly at Zara. She looked fine. I could see the neat line of stiches sealing shut a cut on one of her arms. I could only hope she wasn't mad at me for my part in the wounds she had received.

It didn't take long for Bruce, Jason, and Babs to come down to the batcave. They were all in civvies, though Jason and Babs had sunglasses on hand in case they decided to go to Mount Justice.

Once they were all situated, and Alfred had brought down some sandwiches for lunch, Babs asked, "So…what happened?"

I said, "Well, you know at least that Kid Flash reported that Zara got taken by assassins. It didn't take me long to track her down to the warehouse district and find the building they were holding her in. I didn't expect to see a large number of recently escaped prisoners from Arkham asylum. There were too many of them for me to take on alone, but I knew all of you were busy, so I tried anyway. I went through the shadows, taking down the henchmen that were there. That is, until R'as al Ghoul showed up, shoved me into the light, and asked to see me fight Zara, or Z, as all the villains were calling her."

Babs asked, "Why did they call her Z?"

I explained, "Harrier, the woman behind all of this, liked to keep her real name out of it. Even Zara doesn't know her real name."

Jason asked, as if it should have been obvious, "Wouldn't her name just be Zara's last name."

I said, "That might have worked if Zara knew her last name. Anyway, so R'as knocked me forward from behind. Poison Ivy let the vines that had been holding Zara in place recede. Zara looked torn. Harrier had given her two options: if she fought me, she would live, but she had to kill me; if she refused to fight me, then both of us would have suffered extreme torture."

Babs asked, "What kind of torture?"

I growled, "The kind Zara had gotten once already."

Jason was the only one that really understood this statement, since he had seen the way she reacted when she did something she considered 'bad'.

Babs was about to ask, when Jason explained in an equally angry voice, "Dick and I saw a scar that covered a few of her ribs. It looked like a burn, but it wasn't quite shaped like one. Sort of like that ray Penguin developed about a year ago. We only saw it after she did something she thought was bad."

I hadn't made the connection with Penguin's ray gun. Then again, I hadn't ever gotten hurt worse enough by it to scar, like Jason had.

Babs stiffened when she heard what Jason said. She was obviously angry now that she hadn't come with me to get Zara back.

I said quietly, "There's a high possibility that what gave her that scar was a previous incarnation of the ray Penguin used on us."

This made both heroes emit anger in a way only we can. Even Batman seemed angry at this.

I looked down before continuing in the same quiet voice, "It was brought to light that Zara was the test subject for many of Gotham's villains. The only restriction was that the things she tested couldn't be lethal. Harrier made a large fortune by allowing Zara to be the test subject."

One of them emitted a sharp his. Another one growled.

Babs asked, "What happened after R'as pushed you down?"

I took a deep breath before continuing the story, "Zara had to choose between attacking me or facing torture with me."

She had stared at me for a moment before saying quietly to Harrier, "I will fight."

R'as somehow managed to hear her as well, though I had had to strain my ears to. He let me up to my feet.

Zara approached slowly. She seemed, understandably, unwilling to fight me. I was trying to find a way out for both of us. There had to be one. No trap could actually be perfectly designed. It sort of reminded me of one of the times Joker put me in a death trap. I could either cut off both my legs or die. Batman had saved me then, but this time no one knew where I was or that I needed help.

Jason interjected, "How did you know we didn't know where you were or that you needed help?"

I said, "Because I had been gone for only about an hour at the time. Anyway…"

The warehouse was generally too well-lit for a good escape. The League of Shadows assassins in the rafters weren't helping maters. It was only then I noticed that R'as had neglected to remove my utility belt from me.

Babs said, "So basically you were slow on top of everything else."

I defended, "All of that happened in less than a minute. I just wanted you to understand the thought process. If you're going to insult me, than I can just tell you the physical actions without anything else."

Babs sighed and conceded, "I guess your commentary is necessary."

I asked, "Where was I?"

Jason said, "R'as forgot about your utility belt."

I said, "Or so I thought at the time."

Four bird-a-rangs later, and the room was a lot darker. The assassins in the rafters fell down quickly. I had hoped that Zara would take advantage of the confusion to slip into the shadows. Harrier prevented that by grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back. She didn't stop twisting until her shoulder was dislocated.

Harrier said to me, "Attack us again, and I'll do worse."

I put the fresh set of bird-a-rangs I had been about to fling into the remaining lights back into my utility belt.

Harrier said, "Take off your utility belt and give it to one of the henchmen."

I did as ordered. I warned the henchman I gave it to, "Don't hunt around in there too much." Of course, like all henchmen, he took this to mean the opposite and started opening all the compartments. I knew it wouldn't be long before he hit one of the many booby traps.

Zara let out a light his at this point, though she tried to hide it.

Harrier said to her, "Being with the Bats has made you go soft. It'll take a lot for me to get your pain endurance back to its peak."

Zara barely managed to say through teeth clenched against the pain, "I'm sorry. I promise I'll do better."

Harrier said, "You're right. You will do better." She twisted her arm a little farther before letting go.

Zara immediately took the opportunity to relocate her shoulder.

Babs interjected, "She did it all by herself?"

I nodded and said, "She went through the action like it was as easy as tying her shoe."

Babs shook her head. I knew how she felt, though most people wouldn't be able to tell she was feeling anything. She thought, like most people would, that no seven year old should be able to relocate their own shoulder without showing pain.

Jason looked over at Zara's sleeping form. She looked so peaceful and calm. It was hard to believe that she could with stand more pain then the average adult could. She could with stand more pain then the average adult hero could. Of course, we Bats weren't average adult heroes, but still. Superman didn't relocate his own shoulder on the rare occasions it needed it.

Babs said, "It kind of tells you what sort of pain she must have had to deal with on a daily basis."

I nodded.

Jason asked, "What happened next?"

I said, "So, after Zara relocated her shoulder…"

R'as said, "Impressive."

Harrier scoffed, "She's better than this in top form."

One of the assassins I didn't recognize said, "None of our current initiates could have managed that."

R'as nodded in affirmative. Then he said, "Begin."

Zara looked at Harrier in fear. She knew who would deliver pain if she disobeyed. Harrier nodded once in confirmation. Zara stood again. I didn't want to hurt her, and I was fairly certain I had found a way out that would involve little pain for both of us. As is now apparent, I was wrong, and it was nearly fatal for both of us.

Babs cut in, "Enough with the suspense building. Just get to the point."

I smiled, but it quickly fell off my face as I continued.

Zara attacked faster this time. She fought hard though it was obvious she had no training. She had been just about to kick me, when my utility belt exploded. It threw me and Zara. I had purposely backed towards the man as I dodged. Unfortunately, it going off set of an EMP I had in my belt at the time, knocking out all my communications devises.

I used the throw to get me close enough to Zara that I could talk to her. I whispered, "When I throw you, steal my utility belt from R'as and go into the rafters."

Zara nodded.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jason said, "You expect me to believe that Zara went from trying to fight you, to flying through the air because your utility belt exploded, to taking orders."

Babs said, "Jason, just because you have a problem following orders doesn't mean everyone does."

Jason glared at her.

Batman said just loud enough for us to hear, "Jason." That was enough to make Jason stop the retort he was about to shoot at her. Babs knew what would happen if she bragged about getting the last word, so she didn't.

I asked, "Can I continue now?"

Babs and Jason both nodded.

Zara attacked again, running at me. I threw her, and she went straight towards R'as. She grabbed my utility belt, used one of the men nearby as a spring board, and went into the rafters.

The assassins launched themselves after her. I could only hope she had escaped through the roof's sky light undetected. When they came back down without her, I thought she had.

I looked at Babs, anticipating her next question.

She asked, "What do you mean you thought she had?"

I said, "If you let me get on with the story, I'll tell you."

She rolled her eyes, but nodded for me to continue.

I took the confusion as an opportunity. I tried to fight R'as. His assassins ensured it wasn't a fair fight. They had me chained up in record time.

R'as said, "I won't take the girl if she isn't obedient."

Harrier said, "When she again sees there is no hope, then she will be obedient."

I tried to talk, but the gag one of the assassins had shoved in my mouth made it impossible.

Joker said, "Looks like Bat Boy wants to say something."

I tried to talk again through the gag.

Harrier ripped it painfully out of my mouth then demanded, "What?"

I said, "She won't come back."

Harrier scoffed, "I think she will. She likes you for some strange reason."

I said, "It might have something to do with not hurting her when she makes a mistake."

Harrier said, "Oh that stuff was minor. You should see what some of these people paid me to do to her."

A look of confusion flashed across my face.

Joker laughed and said, "The Bats aren't all knowing."

Penguin's nasally laughter joined his.

Ivy walked up to me. She said, "You have to wonder who we test all of our stuff on before we use it on you Bats. Of course, there are usually a couple of deaths before we get far enough along to test it on Z or someone like her. We need someone young, so we know how it will affect Jason. Someone even younger than him works even better."

Harrier added, "Other villains that face heroes with young sidekicks pay for her work too."

I lashed out against the chains that held me. Of course none of them broke, but Ivy and Harrier both got hit by chains.

Babs asked, "Hoe did they chain you up that let you hit both of them with chains?"

I replied, "They were standing close enough that the somewhat loose chains around my legs could hit them. Harrier didn't really like getting hit by chains."

She punched my gut hard. Then she pulled a knife, and would have done worse, if it wasn't for the well aim bird-a-rang that seemed to shoot out of the darkness.

Jason demanded, "How did Zara just throw a bird-a-rang and hit what she was aiming at? Those things are weighted weird."

Babs said, "They're waited like throwing knives. You've probably only dealt with hunting knives or switch blades. Zara has probably dealt with them before based on…"

I looked over at Zara. I hadn't thought much about it at the time. I was too busy wondering why on earth she had stayed behind.

Jason asked, "So what happened next?"

I said, "Harrier wasn't exactly happy that Zara protected me from her."

Harrier called out, "Z, if you come down, I won't kill either of you. I make no other promises."

I shook my head as subtly as I could. Zara would be able to get out of this all alive. It was my life that was really on the line. Zara could still get out alive.

I could barely hear the sound of someone moving around the rafters. I could tell the assassins did to though. They were about to go up there when another set of bird-a-rangs flew down.

I said, "I'm still not exactly sure how she got so many to launch at once. She must have used the stuff in my utility belt to make something to launch more."

Babs said, "Just tell us what happened next."

The bird-a-rangs hit the major villains standing nearest to me. It went straight for the weakest points they had. They hadn't expected it, so they hit their marks.

In the confusion, no one noticed Zara drop down and begin to pick the locks on my chains. Unfortunately for both of us, Harrier noticed a few seconds later. Zara made sure the lock pick she had been using got into my hand and left my utility belt at my feet.

Harrier broke her arm before I could get out of the chains. Zara didn't even cry out.

I heard Harrier growl, "You know he wasn't even your real father. He was one of Blockbuster's least favorite lieutenants. He barely even liked you. He only confronted me about you because some cop called. That's why he was mad at me. He was worried I would blow his cover. I killed him because I was bored with him. You will learn to do the same."

Zara said through clenched teeth, "You're lying."

Harrier laughed and said, "You wish I was. No one really loves you Z. No one. You think that Bat likes you. He pities you. He probably doesn't even think of you as a human being, just a tool."

I had heard that last part before. Just never with me as the he that was being referred to.

Jason asked, "What do you mean?"

I sighed and said, "It usually wasn't that harsh, and I wasn't supposed to hear it. Let's just say some heroes didn't approve of Batman taking me on as a sidekick."

Jason looked shocked. He had met several members of the Justice League. I imagine he was trying to figure out which one of them could have said that kind of stuff about Batman.

Batman was the one who growled, "What happened next?"

I said, "It didn't stop there."

Zara said, "At least he doesn't hurt me."

Harrier turned her over, damaging the broken arm even more. She pulled out a knife and said, "You don't know the true meaning of pain. You think what I do to you is bad, you should see the torture the Bats have given to some villains." She accented the word villains by running the sharp knife down one of her legs.

Zara proclaimed, "You're lying. Nightwing would never do that."

Harrier said, "There's a reason why there are so many villains in Arkham. They drive them insane." Harrier added another cut with the last sentence.

Zara said, "No, you started out that way."

Harrier gave her another shallow cut before saying, "That's no way to talk to your mother."

Zara said, "You were never my mother. I don't even know you. I don't even know your real name."

Harrier was about to give her another knife wound when I flung a bird-a-rang at her. It hit her knife hand, damaging it to the point that she could keep a hold of the blade. It fell from her hand and would have cut Zara again, but she dodged out of the way. Harrier hit her with her good hand, knocking her out.

Then, Harrier came at me. Her had may have been damaged, but she was still as good as me at hand to hand combat. She managed to get another knife and cut me several times.

It wasn't until she got hit in the back of the head that I realized the assassins had turned on the rest of the villains. They were wining too.

Babs said, "So when you said that you thought R'as had forgotten about your utility belt, he really left it there for a reason."

I said, "Yeah, it was kind of odd."

Jason asked, "So why did they turn on the henchmen and villains?"

I said, "I was getting to that."

I went over and picked up Zara, hopping to slip away from the conflict raging around me.

R'as said, "I will collect this debt in the future Nightwing." With that, he and all the assassins disappeared.

I said, "One two mile walk later, and I got here."

Babs asked, "How did you make it that far bleeding in costume?"

I shrugged and said, "I'm not exactly sure. The assassins may have intervened yet again on my behalf."

Jason asked, "What do you think R'as will do to make you pay him back?"

I said, "I have no idea."


	15. Shopping is Boring

I artfully hid the fear I felt from being in such a large crowd. I kept my right arm close to my body. It was mostly healed, but that didn't mean I wanted someone to jostle it when the state competition was coming up.

I searched through the sea of bodies at the mall for Dick. I couldn't find him anywhere. We had gotten separated when we had passed through a huge crowd.

I slid into the shadows again as a group of odd looking men walked by. It was the third time I had seen them, and I still had the same odd paranoid feeling.

The men seemed to be searching the crowd as thoroughly as I was. Unlike me however, they started moving like they had found what they were looking for.

I followed them. I had only gotten better at silent movement in the two months I had lived with Dick. No one saw my small form moving fluidly through the shadows.

I saw the men's target a couple of minutes later. I easily stepped out of the shadows next to my uncle. He had been staring at a video game display.

I whispered, "Those men over there are looking for you."

Jason said, "I see em."

I asked quietly, "What are you going to do about it?"

Jason said, "Make sure it's really me they're looking for."

I asked, "How?"

Jason explained, "Lead them around for a little bit. That way we know for sure they're following me. Then, well, Blue Jay hasn't made an appearance in Gotham yet."

I double checked to make sure I still had my backpack. It was securely on my shoulders.

Jason led the way towards another couple of stores and said, "I'm almost glad these guys showed up. Shopping is boring."

I asked, "Why are we doing it then?"

Jason said, "Something about needing to spend some of Bruce's money every once and a while to keep up appearances."

I said, "Oh."

Jason asked, "Why aren't you with Dick?"

I looked down and said a little sadly, "I got separated from him in a crowd and I haven't been able to find him since."

Jason said, "That's not good. How long ago?"

I checked my watch and said, "Twenty minutes by now."

Jason frowned. He looked confused, a little angry, and contemplative.

We rounded a corner into a mostly deserted hallway, when men in black suits came towards us, blocking out any escape from the front. I glanced back and the men that had been following us spread out as well.

Jason asked, "Can you do that thing with the wall?"

I asked, "Which one?"

Jason said, "The only one that would let you get over these guys."

I frowned and said, "Yeah, but I never pulled that sort of thing in gymnastics, but I've done it already as BJ."

Jason asked, "Can you just flip over them?"

I said, "Not without a spring board."

Jason said, "Use my shoulders."

I asked, "What about you?"

Jason said, "I'll be fine. Just go."

I shook my head and said, "We're not supposed to leave anyone, including ourselves behind."

Jason said, "Rules, especially our rules, are made to be broken."

I looked up at him and said, "I'm not leaving you."

Jason growled, "Go, I'll be right behind you."

I looked at his face, trying to see if he was lying. He didn't think he was at the very least. I said, "brace yourself."

I took three steps back. I couldn't afford anymore with the men approaching us from behind. I estimated when the men in front of us would be in a position that I could make it over them. Then I ran as fast as I could over those three steps and used Jason's shoulders as a spring board.

I turned once, twice, landed it, and ran. Three men immediately chased after me. The rest turned on Jason.

I only almost got to the first store when the man in the lead grabbed my shoulder, pulled me towards him, and plunged a needle into my neck. I had managed to go a whole two months without being kidnapped again, and my record was being broken by some unknown third party.

**AN: Sorry for the long wait on the update. I couldn't figure out how to continue, but hopefully this will work out okay. I'll try to update faster. Wish me luck. I hope to fit another drabble chapter in soon. For now, I'm Zaraizabella and I approve this chapter...mostly...kind of...so I'm totally underconfident about this chapter, but there it is. If you hate it then to bad because I can't come up with anything better where Jason is still alive. R&R.**


	16. Alfred told me to have fun

**First off, THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING if you did that is.**

**Secondly, randomkitty101 thanks for the idea. I've been thinking of doing something like that for my next drabble chapter**

**Thirdly, anonymous I'm sorry for the mislabel I'll fix it soon. I forget sometimes that Zara is supposed to be seven because I'm kind of not. It's hard for me to think back to when I was. Huh...I might do something to explain that later. I don't think Jason is an idiot most of the time and I liked him enough to completely change the original chapter where I first introduced Robin to make it him instead of Tim. Not that I hate Tim or anything, but I like Jason. I'll attempt to make him less of an idiot. I thought I did better with chapter fifteen in making Zara less smart and Jason more of a kind of mentor-esque character. I'm sorry if I really failed that epically. I'll try to do better.**

**Fourth, piggythelaw I thank you for the confidence boost**

**Fifth, monzepelmoon I just felt like you should get honorable mention since I replied to all the other comments I got while typing this chapter. You stated your opinion, which I often forget to do when I read rather than write. I thank you again.**

**On a sixth note, everyone that has just started out and managed to read this far is quite awesome. I have problems reading through stories that are this long, but I try sometimes. I thank you for reading and hope that you are inspired to write a comment.**

**On a seventh note, I'm pretty sure I haven't disclaimed for a couple of chapters, so I don't own any character except Blue Jay.**

**On an eighth note, SCHOOL GETS OUT SOON!**

Where was she? I checked my watch again. Half an hour and I couldn't find one seven year old in Gotham Mall. I couldn't even find Jason. I tried calling him again. I was walking through a less used hallway when I saw a phone ringing.

I saw the scratch that had come when Jason bet Zara the last of Alfred's cookies that she couldn't hit his phone with a bird-a-rang, so it was Jason's phone. That couldn't be good. I checked to see if there was anything on it I could use. I couldn't find anything.

My phone started playing the circus music that was my current ring tone. I had it to my ear before the song was five notes in.

An obviously computer altered voice on the other end said, "Mr. Wayne, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that we have your daughter and nephew, and they are, as of yet, unharmed. Go home and we'll send you a video message in an hour with our demands. Do not contact the police Mr. Wayne. We will know if you tell any other officer about our little talk."

I said, "I want proof that she's alive and unhurt."

The man said, "You will receive it with the video." He hung up then. I bowed my head. I couldn't believe Zara had been taken. I had thought taking her to the mall would be a good idea.

It took most of my will power not to beat the nearest wall into a pulp, as I probably would have before Zara became a part of my life. I had to be a parent now. I couldn't just beat walls into submission. I took a deep breath and left the mall, trying to stay calm. I'd have to call Bruce and tell him what happened. Hopefully, he could start a more thorough investigation while I waited for the next message to come in.

NW&BJ*B&R

I woke up first. Jason and I were tied back to back on chairs. They had done an unusually thorough job with it. Jason had told me once that he had been able to undo his bindings almost every time he had been kidnapped as his civilian identity. That made me wonder why on earth they would have done better this time around.

All the men were wearing animal masks now.

The one with the eagle looking one said, "Good, you're awake. A little ahead of schedule, but this will only make it easier to get your father the video."

A guy with a bear mask said, "Boss, the video camera ain't workin'."

Eagle mask yelled, "Imbecilic! Rat, help him fix it."

A skinny man in a rat mask said, "Yes sir, Mr. Eagle sir." He went over to help bear mask.

Jason woke up a few minutes later, while bear mask and rat mask were still trying to make the camera work. He tried to get out of our bindings, but the chains refused to be removed.

Eagle mask said, "Hurry up you two, I'm getting impatient."

Rat mask said, "Sir, I can't get it to work either."

Jason asked sarcastically, "Did you try turning it on?"

Rat looked at him for a minute, looked down at the camera, and pushed a button. Music came out of the small device as it turned on.

Eagle rolled his eyes and said to me, "Now, you will be our little spokes person, since it is your father we're sending this message to. I'd prefer it if you cry, but you're probably in to much shock to pull that off girly, so I'll accept a look of fear."

I nodded.

Eagle called, "Bag, Parrot, Pig!"

Three men came in wearing the designated masks. Bag had a hole for his mouth and a couple for his eyes, but beyond that it was just a paper back.

Jason asked, "Did you run out of masks, or was Bag mask to fat to fit into any of the other ones?"

I could see what he meant. Bag was on the chubby side.

Jason asked suddenly, "Wait, did you tell Dick not to call the police?"

Eagle said, "of course! I'm not an idiot."

Jason laughed and said, "You realize he is a cop."

Eagle said, "Yes, but that doesn't mean he'll hide the information from his cop friends to protect you two."

Jason said, "You called a cop to tell him you kidnapped his daughter and nephew. Then you told him you'd make a ransom demand soon. You really are idiots."

Bag said, "Hey! Don't insult the boss! He's the smartest guy I know."

Jason said, "You need to get out more."

Eagle said, "Shut up all of you. Bag, Parrot, and Pig, you'll be standing behind them imposingly in the video. Rat and Bear will be filming. Zara, when the others are ready, you will look properly scared and tell your dad we want one thousand dollars delivered to Gotham pier three at ten o'clock."

Bear said, "But Eagle, we're on pier five."

Eagle said, "Yes, but we don't want him to know that."

Parrot, Bag, and Pig stood behind me and Jason. Rat hit the record button. I let some of the fear I felt show.

I said, "Daddy, these scary guys in masks want one thousand dollars delivered to Gotham pier three at ten o'clock." I didn't miss Jason jingling the chains in what sounded like Morse Code, but I wasn't very good at it yet. I was pretty sure he said something about food.

Eagle added, stepping in front of the camera when I said my piece, "If you don't pay, your daughter dies first."

Rat hit the stop record button.

Jason said, "So you like me enough to keep me alive longer than Zara. I'm sure I'll come up with some good jokes about baggie over here during those minutes after you kill her and before you kill me."

Eagle said, "I changed my mind, you can die first. Hawk! Send the video to the Wayne!"

A man in a hawk mask came in and took the video camera from Rat and Bear then left again.

Jason asked, "How many guys have you got in this one warehouse?"

Eagle said, "Enough to fight off even Batman."

Jason said, "I doubt that. Batman has rescued me from being kidnapped from more guys than this. They had better training to."

Eagle said, "He won't even be able to find us."

Jason shrugged. Than he complained, "I'm hungry."

Bear said, "I am to."

Bag and Rat nodded in agreement.

Eagle said, "Fine, we'll order you pizza."

Jason asked, "How are you going to get them to deliver way out here?"

Eagle said, "They will if we offer them a large enough tip."

Bear said, "I want a meat pizza."

Jason said, "But Zara doesn't like sausage or anchovies."

Eagle said, "We're getting a cheese pizza and that's final."

Jason said, "But we at least need pepperoni."

Eagle said, "Fine, we'll get you a pepperoni pizza."

Jason said, "But Zara likes bacon and thin crust pizza."

Eagle said, "Whatever."

Rat asked, "Hey boss, can I order the pizza this time?"

Bear complained before Eagle could answer, "But it's my turn."

Eagle said, "You know what, Parrot, order us a thin crust extra large pepperoni and bacon pizza. Have them deliver it to the warehouse."

Parrot said, "Whatever you say Eagle." He left to order the pizza.

It took half an hour for a familiar looking red head to come in, shielding her face with her baseball cap that declared the name of the restaurant she pretended to work for. I sort of wondered how she was wearing her costume under it all.

Eagle asked, "How much do I owe you?"

Batgirl said, "Twelve seventy-eight and those two kids chained up over there. All long with you're sliminess sent to prison." She pulled off her cap and attacked Eagle.

Batman and Nightwing came in through the roof seconds later. They took down all the animals and bag with swift efficiency. Nightwing undid our chains and I quickly latched onto my father figure when they were gone.

Jason said, "That was all me."

Batgirl asked, "Was ordering pizza really necessary?"

Jason said, "No, but Alfred told me to have fun before Dick picked me up."

**That story line was supposed to go longer I promise. It just didn't. I will attempt to update soon. R&R**


	17. The Look of Fear Fell

"Did you see? The circus brat got his own charity case." Some would say. Others would ask, "Who's the little cute one? Oh she's his daughter? I'm glad they finally managed to straighten out one of the Wayne family." I wished I could be brave enough to do some of the crazy things Dick had at my age. The thing is, I was a coward. I spent as much of the party as possible near one of the few people at them that I actually trusted. It was usually Dick, but sometimes he was unavailable.

I was heading through the crowd during one of the rare moments when I was more than three feet from someone I trusted. I was really thirsty, but the waiter's trays only had wine on them. The water could be found on a table close to the front entrance. I was almost there when the man ran into me, accidentally spilling his drink all over himself.

He cried out, "Look what you made me do! Do you know how much this suit cost?"

I managed to get out through my fear, "I'm sorry sir."

He yelled, "Sorry isn't going to fix my favorite Armani suit." I saw his hand coming towards me, and I instinctively flinched away from him.

I said, "I'm sure there's something someone can do to fix it."

He said, "You can't get wine stains out of Armani! You little idiot, you will fix this." I saw the grab coming. There were people behind me, so I couldn't escape into the crowd. There was nothing I could do. One hand grabbed the front of my dress. The other crumpled into a fist, swinging towards my rib cage. I shut my eyes and braced for a hit that never came.

I heard Dick growl in a tone I had only ever heard Bruce use once when Jason got kidnapped, "Let Her Go." I opened my eyes to see that he had grabbed the arm of the man about to hit me.

The man, who I now realized was a little younger than Dick, asked, "What are you going to do about it Grayson?" They were glaring at each other.

Jason seemed to appear out of nowhere to my right, though I knew he had been standing by a fireplace on the other side of the room. He must have heard or noticed the confrontation. Barb appeared on my other side in the dark green dress that made her eyes seem an even brighter green. She had been talking to a group of older men about the police force's failing to protect the city's youth. I guess she was wrong.

A couple of the young man's friends appeared at his sides. They were burlier than we were. There were six friends and the young man, which put the odds firmly in our favor. A nice older gentleman that had struck up a conversation with me before came out of the crowd and said, "Tate, let go of her."

Tate, apparently the name of the man grabbing my dress, said, "Butt out Fox. This is our fight." It was only then that he noticed the batglares on Jason's, Barb's, and Dick's face. He stepped back a half step, pulling me part of the way with him.

I let my feet slide into a fighting stance as I went. The look of fear that had been in my face turned into the fierce determination I was now willing to show, since he wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon. He saw my look last, though for some reason it was because of it that he made up his mind.

He sent one more glare Dick's way, said, "This isn't over," and left with his friends.

I said to Lucius Fox, which could only be who the older gentleman was, "Thank you."

Lucius said to me, "Your family did all the work. I was just a voice of reason." His eyes crinkled as he smiled.

I sent a dazzling smile back, though it wasn't real. The scene before Dick had shown up was all to familiar. It still scared me. My face didn't show any of that though. I had been putting on masks since I was three. This one was no different from the rest.

Lucius seemed happy as he went back into the crowd. The smile didn't drop off my face until Dick pulled me into a hug. I still didn't know how he could know that the happy mask that covered my face was a facade. That was okay though. He was my dad. It was his job to know such things.


	18. I was going to die

I was going to die. I knew that. I could see the bomb about to go off. There was no way Bruce could get in and get me out in time. I was going to die.

Dick would blame himself for agreeing to stay behind. R'as had used it as pay back for saving him and Zara. Zara had had her big gymnastics thingy anyway, so she hadn't even found out about R'as wanting them both to stay out of Europe.

Zara would take it hard. I knew she looked up to me. She didn't know how to deal with emotional pain. She barely even knew that she reacted incorrectly to physical pain. She would probably react like an idiot. That would be just like her.

I didn't want the fall of Robin to be the fall of Blue Jay, but I had a feeling it would be in those last seconds. Dick wouldn't be able to handle risking her life so soon after my death. Zara wouldn't be able to handle staying behind so soon after my death. Besides, the name never really fit her. Blue jays are loud birds. Blue Jay is a quiet kid.

Sure, she was smarter than the average kid her age. She was smarter than the average street kid three years older than her. She was still an idiot. In fact, being smart just gave her more potential to be an idiot. Blue Jay was about the biggest idiot genius I knew.

My family would all blame themselves. I knew that. It was their natural reaction to anything bad. Wing had even found a way to blame himself for all of Baby Blue's pain. B-man could find a way to blame himself for anything from world hunger to Wing quitting college, though the second one was kind of his fault.

All in all, I was at peace with my death, tough I wished I could have gone out fighting the Joker. That idiot would get what was coming to him. My family would have the decency to give me that. I would be his last victim. Bruce wouldn't let him hurt anyone else.

The explosion hit then, and anything was really bright. Then it all went dark.

**Alright, this is the conclusion to this story. The story of Zara will be continued in a story I'm pretty sure will be entitled Wraith, though I'm not positive. Thank you for all the great reviews. I hope my ideas about what Jason's thought just before he died aren't to OOCish. I might actually add more chapters to this story later, since I write so much that I just don't post. I decided I didn't know enough about gymnastics to write about Zara's competition, so you get this depressing fic to seal the story for the time being. I'd like to thank all of you that bothered to read it. I'd really like to thank those of you that reviewed.**

**I don't own any of the characters made by DC, though that would be awesome.**

**-Zaraizabell**


	19. Some information about Blue Jay's future

**Stronger123 requested that I let you guys know when the new story is up. I ended up titling it Blue Jay-Journey, so it should be easy to find.**

**Harrier is going to show up again. Ra's Al Ghoul stuff is a bit leaning towards how he was portrayed in Batman: Under the Red Hood mainly because I watched it the night before I wrote the first chapter. I hope you all like it. I got poetry contributions from my friend KT. Nightwing feels guilty. I won't say anything more about it, so you'll just have to read it yourself.**

**-Zaraizabell**


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